'January 2024' Tagged Posts

Some Christians love to be spoon-fed long after they pass the newborn stage. Correspondingly, some preachers love to keep spoon-feeding Christians even when they should have matured long past that stage (cf. Heb. 5:12-14) We all understand that if a thirty-year-old is still being spoon-fed, something has not developed correctly. At times, this can happen because of mental or physical handicaps. However, if we were to see a grown man being spoon-fed and coddled by his mother, a grown man…

Another hallmark of the literary approach to the Bible is its emphasis on the unity of books and passages. Literary critics look for literary wholes. A pioneer in the literary approach to the Bible rightly commented that ‘no principle of literary study is more important than that of grasping clearly a literary work as a single whole.’ A literary approach to the Bible is thus characterized partly by attention to unifying patterns in biblical texts. (Words of Delight, p. 21).…

Anyone who studies the Bible has longed for tips that could reduce the effort needed to exegete a passage, prepare a lesson plan, or write a sermon. When an especially difficult passage or topic comes along, the time crunch feels truly oppressive, mocking your efforts and exposing your weaknesses. The expectation for the preacher to know every answer exacerbates the problem, pressuring ministers to find an answer more quickly than wisdom warrants. However, pride and impatience can rear their heads,…

One of Scripture’s most tragic statements is found in Hosea 4:6—“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” God provided His people with everything that they needed to know in order to please Him. His Divine Will was clearly revealed in the Law  and proclaimed  by His servants sent time and again to plead with His people. But they continually rejected Him, and consequently He rejected them (Hos. 4:6b). Another tragedy is found in Amos 8:11—“Behold, the days are coming,…

Maybe you have resolved repeatedly to become a better, more faithful Bible student, person of prayer, or simply one who truly desires to build a closer relationship with God. While a lot of that will be personal and peculiar to you as an individual, you may lack direction about how to get started or give yourself the best chance to succeed in that goal. Perhaps these few suggestions can prove helpful to strengthening your daily connection with your Creator. Adjust…